1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns an internal combustion engine reformer installation having the features of a classifying portion.
2. Description of Related Art
Internal combustion engine reformer installations of the general kind set forth are to be found for example in U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,209 B1, JP 2001 152846 A or WO 2008/150370 A1. The inventions disclosed therein use the principle described hereinafter.
In a reformer a synthesis gas is produced from fuel, air and possibly steam and/or a portion of the exhaust gas flow of an internal combustion engine. The synthesis gas is then fed together with air and possibly further fuel to the internal combustion engine. That affords two advantages. On the one hand gases/emissions which are unwanted in the engine exhaust gas such as for example nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and unburnt hydrocarbons are reduced. On the other hand the synthesis gas is hydrogen-bearing, which improves the combustion characteristics and efficiency.
As on the one hand the substance flow directed into the reformer has to be preheated and on the other hand the synthesis gas has to be cooled before passing into the internal combustion engine a heat exchanger between those two substance flows is advantageous.
What is problematical in that respect is that the preheating temperature for the flow into the reformer cannot be selected to be just as high as may be desired as that mixture is in fact burnable and consequently high surface temperatures represent a safety risk. In addition, at excessively high temperatures, there is the risk of coking of the fuel, that is to say unwanted thermal decomposition of the hydrocarbons contained therein.